Surviving The Assault on Private Sector Careers in America

Take This Job and Shove It!

Ever feel like just storming out the door and telling your boss to pound sand?

Read the lyrics of this famous Johnny Paycheck song and see if they sound familiar:

Take this job and shove it — I ain’t working here no moreMy woman done left and took all the reasons– I was working forYou better not try to stand in my way — As I’m a walking out the door.Take this job and shove it — I ain’t working here no more

I know I’ve felt that way a few times and I even did it once. Unfortunately, it’s a really bad idea for your career. The first time I felt like doing it I was working at Data Terminal Systems.

The Snowman and Butterball

Back in 1977, I was working at Data Terminal Systems and decided to apply for the job of Manager of Sales Administration. It was big bump in pay and it was great way to move out of a dead end job in manufacturing and get a solid start in sales and marketing.

All went well until my first day on the new job. That’s when I discovered that the guy who had hired me, we’ll call him The Snowman, had double crossed me and lied to me about the job he was giving me.

I know this is hard to believe, but the day I showed up for my first day as the new Manager of Sales Administration, I discovered a memo that had been written by The Snowman announcing that was the new Scheduling Supervisor! It also said that instead of having this guy I’ll call Butterball — the Order Administration Supervisor reporting to me, I would be reporting to Butterball!

This was horrible on so many levels. There was no promotion, the job was a lateral transfer, I was now working for Butterball, a guy I’d never work for in a million years, and worst of all, I was working in an organization that was run by a deceitful little man (The Snowman). A man I hated.

Unfortunately, I was 24 and had no options, so I was forced to suck it up in a “hostile work environment” for 15 months until I was ultimately able to win the job I thought I had in the first place – The Manager of Sales Administration.

30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers

Dr. Bruce Katcher's Book

When I got screwed by The Snowman, I felt violated, I felt betrayed, and worst of all, I felt like fool. But as we learn this week on The Career Mechanic from Dr. Bruce Katcher, the majority of workers hate their boss and their job. Katcher wrote the book 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Manager.

My Jimmy Stewart Moment

Almost 20 years after my encounter with The Snowman and the dark side of office politics, I found myself getting screwed again. This time it was by friends of mine at Concentra. I had left Computervision and joined Concentra to be the Chief Marketing Manager, but in an effort to boost slumping sales, the President and CEO reorganized the company into two divisions and took my staff away and put them in the divisions.

This led to my “Jimmy Stewart Moment,” when I addressed the management team and told them not to mess with me and my career.

Once again I felt violated and betrayed, but this time I didn’t hate anyone, I just got even. This time, I had a good career network and within a few months I landed one of the best jobs of my life – Chief Marketing Officer, Aspect Development.

Lillian Bjorseth — The Network Expert

Lillian Bjorseth

We’ve been talking for some time about the rise of “social networks” and why you must play on them for the good of your career. One of our guests this week on The Career Mechanic – Lillian Bjorseth, says that these Internet based social networks fall short on a human level. Bjorseth lays out a game plan for using good old fashioned face-to-face networking to build a career network that can actually help you find a job when you need you.

If you find dealing with your boss a growing source of angst in your life and you’d like to start building a network to protect you when the day comes that you say: “Take This Job and Shove IT,” be sure to listen to this week’s episode of The Career Mechanic.

Hate is a strong word, yet it’s right there in the title of Dr. Bruce Thatcher’s book “30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers. Dr. Thatcher will join Dave Horne this week to discuss the intensity of emotions building in the workplace and what you can do about it. Dave will tell a couple of tales of his own corporate abuse and how he survived. Dave and his second guest, Lillian Bjorseth will discuss the strategic importance of building a career network that will reliably help you find a job when you really need one. Lillian has been dubbed “The Network Expert” by the Chicago Tribune and she has also been featured on Fox News critiquing President Obama’s etiquette on his recent global tour.